1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to agricultural equipment and, more particularly, to a mechanism for continuously planting seed in soil.
2. Background Art
There are a myriad of different apparatus available for continuously planting seed in soil One objective of designers of such apparatus is to consistently and accurately place the seed at prescribed intervals and depths to get uniform crop yield.
John Deere currently offers a complete planter unit with a metering mechanism thereon. The metering mechanism uses rotary disks with seed receptacles thereon with a source of vacuum to draw the seed into the receptacles. The seeds separate from the disks at a predetermined rotational position therefor and fall by gravity through a chute to be directed thereby into a seed slot.
The seed is released sufficiently above the ground that it often bounces and ultimately lands at a location spaced from an intended site. Further, since the seed is released above the soil, there is a tendency of the seed to be moved undesirably by wind or even the draft of the moving equipment before the seed comes to rest in the soil. As a result, significant mounts of the seed may be spaced erratically so that the seed receives less than consistent benefit from the nutrients in the soil and additives that may be placed by the farmer on and into the soil.
One seed planting mechanism, offered by Kongskilde, a Denmark corporation, alleviates the above problem to a certain extent by propelling seed downwardly and thereafter pressing the seed into the soil. However, the Kongskilde system has other limitations, as are made apparent below.